


May the Best Man Win

by LordeMidnight



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Hate Sex, I suck at titles, Smut, Teachers AU, slightly dom rumple idk, they are straight scheming against each other lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-08
Updated: 2015-04-08
Packaged: 2018-03-21 20:48:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3704459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LordeMidnight/pseuds/LordeMidnight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ms. French and Mr. Gold are rival teachers at Storybrooke High School, both vying for the promotion to head of the English department.</p>
            </blockquote>





	May the Best Man Win

**Author's Note:**

> Rival teachers au. Contains smut.

Belle glanced across the hallway, through the open door, and into his classroom. Empty. Good. The clock indicated it was 7:45 AM, and for the past week or so she had shown up early without fail while _he_ was always on time precisely at 8. Belle scoffed. Simply being on time wouldn’t get him the promotion that they were both competing for; after all, the early bird gets the worm.

Without any work to do so early in the morning and no early morning kids trying to get some extra help in her Honors Literature class that she taught, Belle opened her laptop to check her e-mail. There was one from Dean Mills, another from the current head of English department (a position that would _most certainly_ be hers next year) and another notifying her of Ariel’s engagement party to Eric. Belle quickly RSVPed to the evite, adding a quick message to show her excitement, before glancing at the clock again. 7:48.

A small cough at the door made her jump, and the previous object of her thoughts stood smugly in the doorway: Mr. Gold. Her one and only competition for the promotion to Head of English (Mary Margaret was good, sure, but she was too sweet and not stern enough; August Booth was too much of a slacker to even apply for the position). He stood in his impeccable three-piece designer suit, and Belle idly wondered how he could afford such a thing on a teacher’s salary, before remembering all of his published works which had unfortunately graced the New York Times’ Best Seller List.

“What?” snapped Belle, returning to her computer screen to skim the other guests that were going to the party.

“Just thought I’d say good morning, dearie,” he said.

“And?” asked Belle, slamming her laptop closed and striding over to him. “You never speak to me without an ulterior motive, so let’s hear it.”

“ _And_ good luck,” he said.

Belle shot him a look of confusion, and Gold raised his eyebrows in response before an expression of clarity took over her face. “ _Oh my god_ ,” whisper-yelled Belle. “The placement tests for sophomores are today!” Her face paled, and she frantically searched her brain’s calendar to figure why she had forgotten. Oh, right. That horrid date with Grayson had occupied her mind so much that she had been scatterbrained the past week--well, that was part of the reason she had been a mess. The other reason stood in front of her, leaning on a gold-handled cane (how fitting) and flashing a glinting smile.

“How on Earth could you have forgotten such a thing, dearie?” he said, turning away from her. Belle’s nostrils flared. Right before he entered his classroom across the hall, he turned back to her, “Just remember, it’s only _one_ of the contributing factors to who gets the promotion.”

Belle opened her mouth to snark back at him, but he whipped his door closed, leaving her to seethe at some of the early arrivals. She stomped back to her desk and plopped down in anger. The placement tests that they were supposed to give their sophomores would not only place them in either Honors, AP or IB courses, but also indicate which teacher had been the best at preparing the students with the given curriculum. Mr. Gold was such a by-the-book teacher that he undoubtedly stole a copy of last years test and went question by question. Not to mention that he knew the administrator of the placement tests--a Mrs. de Vill--and had probably secured a test that he knew by heart, thus teaching all the questions to the students so that it would reflect best on him. Belle, on the other hand...well, she had done what she could to prepare them.

The intercom clicked on for Belle to hear Dean Mills’ snobbish tone ring throughout the school: “Gold! Get to my office this instant.” Across the hall, the door to his class slammed open and he _tap tap tapped_ down the hallway to go to the office. Belle tiptoed across her room and the leaned over the threshold to watch him disappear around a corner. Smirking, she stalked into his room to see the plastic box with the tests stacked inside. A sticky note on the top one of the stacks read: _Best, Ciara de Vill_ in loopy handwriting. Belle smirked, opened the box and stuck the sticky note onto the top of the stack right next to it. She put the top back on the box and skipped back into her room just in time before he appeared in back in his room. She watched over the top of her laptop as he opened the box, grabbed the stack with the sticky note and set it on his desk. Then, he took another one at random and limped across the hallway to enter her room.

“Your tests,” he snarled and dropped them on her desk so that they slid onto the ground. Belle could care less though.

“It’s a shame I don’t have Mrs. de Vill to rely on here, _dearie_ ,” said Belle. “I guess I’ll have to just trust in my teaching ability.”

Gold shot her an unknowingly glare before leaving the room and Belle in hysterics.

* * *

 

“What did you _do_?” spat Gold, inches away from her face as the last of her students exited the room.

“I’ve no idea what you’re talking about,” said Belle, wrapping a hand around her to-go coffee mug and standing up.

“Like hell you don’t.”

Belle strode out her classroom door and down the hall of crowded students. She could hear Mr. Gold struggling to keep up, causing her mouth to twist into an uncontrollable grin.

“My students were scratching their heads and looking around the entire time,” said Gold, now keeping up with her pace to the Teacher’s Lounge and looking straight ahead. Belle ducked into the lounge, and he followed after her.

“That’s a shame,” said Belle, unscrewing the cap to her mug and rinsing it out with water. “Maybe you should have taken a more generalized approach.”

She turned away from the sink to find Gold only inches from her. Surprised, Belle backed up against the counter, but Gold only stepped closer, bringing their bodies flush together. Her face heated up at the sight of his dilated pupils, but she chalked it up to anger and the heat of the moment. He put his hands on the counter on either side of her.

“You switched the note,” he said, the epiphany obvious on his features.

“Maybe,” replied Belle coyly. She licked her lips, and Golds eyes darted down to watch.

“You--” he started to say before a cough interrupted them. Gold tore his eyes away from her mouth to look at an obviously uncomfortable Mary Margaret. Belle looked down and realized their predicament: they were pressed up against each other, not a millimeter of space to spare, looking quite heated. Gold pulled away from her to lean on his cane and nod to the embarrassed teacher.

“Mrs. Nolan.”

“M-Mr. Gold.”

“I suppose we can continue this conversation later, Ms. French.”

“Of course, Mr. Gold.”

And with that, he bowed out, leaving Belle to have a rather awkward conversation with a rather awkward Mary Margaret.

* * *

 

Storybrooke, Maine was always a very cold place to live. Snow was frequent, prevalent in the winter months before petering out in late spring. Which meant early April was still subject to heavy snowfall, and today was no exception.

Belle stared out her window from her apartment, sighing heavily as she watched a man struggle to cross the icy roads before falling flat on his ass. She would have laughed if it weren’t for the dismal weather conditions and her run-in with Gold yesterday. What the hell was that? They had been arguing, of course, as usual, but never before had she found herself in such a... _compromising_ situation--plus the fact that she had to deal with Mary Margaret afterward in the aroused state he had left her in. They hadn’t even done anything, not as much as kissed, and he had left her in a state of arousal. Damn him. And his hair.

Regardless, the weather meant that she would not trek in early to school to try and win over the Dean for the promotion. One day wouldn’t hurt her after all.

True to her morning routine, however, she opened her inbox on her desktop computer to check her e-mail. After sorting through the junk and replying to an annoying e-mail from August (he wanted her to edit the story he was writing, and would not stop pestering her), she noticed an unread email sent from the Dean at 7:35. Opening it, Belle let out a sigh of relief when it notified her that the school would not be opening that day. Slipping off her heels, she climbed back into bed, work clothes and all.

* * *

 

“Where the hell is she?!” snapped Regina as she slammed open Gold’s door to his classroom. A few students that were making up a quiz before school looked up, but her seething glare had them quickly returning to their papers.

Gold hoisted himself up with help from his cane and strode out the door to talk to her outside. That woman could be quite the yeller.

Once the door was closed, he gestured for her to continue.

“Belle fucking French!” said Regina. Ah, yes.

“And to what are you referring, exactly?”

“It’s--” Regina checked her watch “--8:25, and she’s not here yet. Her students have complained that she’s not here for tutoring, and she missed a rather _important_ meeting this morning.”

“I’m sure she’ll turn up,” lied Gold.

“She better hope,” said Regina, “because we’re short-staffed on subs since the weather is so shitty today.”

“Tell you what,” said Gold, “if she doesn’t come in in the next, say, ten minutes, I can cover her morning classes. Mine are on a field trip with Mr. Booth at the news station.”

Regina deflated and looked at him with gratitude. “Thank you,” she said. “I appreciate it. This is so out of character for her, normally she’s so diligent--”

“Let’s hope she doesn’t make it a habit.”

“Again, thank you,” said Regina before stalking off down the hallway. On her way, she pointed to a kid who was wearing all black, black lipstick, and had multiple piercings littering his brow. “You. Kid. Take that shit off before you get the shit made fun of you.”

Gold chuckled as she disappeared, before entering Belle’s classroom to let in a few of her students.

“Where’s Ms. French today?” asked one boy.

“Oh, I’ll be taking over for her,” said Gold, biting back the urge to add permanently onto the end of the statement. He smirked. His plan had worked after all. All it had taken was an early meeting with Regina, a staged emergency to have her leave the room (a well-timed freak out from Zelena Greene, which he had not planned), and a quick e-mail sent off to Belle to keep her from coming in this morning. It also allowed to make her seem less responsible than she so seemed, not calling in her absence. She had started the game, and he was going to finish it. Oh, it would be a joy playing with her.

* * *

 

At precisely 12:45, Belle rushed into her classroom, papers flying out of tote bag and bagel stuck into her mouth. In one hand, she held her eternally-attached-to-her coffee and in the other her phone that she was furiously one-handed texting on. Gold looked up in surprise from his position behind her desk, and she halted at the sight of him, her brown curls whooshing past her shoulders and bouncing lightly. “ _YOU_!” she tried to say menacingly, but it came out muffled from the bagel in her mouth, a few crumbs flying through the air. Her class had just been dismissed for lunch, leaving them alone in the classroom. Gold smiled.

“Good--” he pretended to check his watch “--afternoon, dearie. So much for your streak of showing up early.”

Belle pounced forward and set her coffee and phone down, ripping the bagel from her mouth and throwing her tote dangerously close to his ankle. He flinched.

“You’re the one who sent the e-mail.”

“Maybe,” he said, echoing her words from yesterday.

“Ugh! I cannot believe this,” said Belle, crossing her arms. “If Mary Margaret hadn’t have texted me, I wouldn’t have showed up at all. I bet Dean Mills is pissed!”

“That she is,” he said. “Luckily, I was available to take over for you.”

Belle gaped at him. “Oh, that is _low_.”

“Not as low as you switching out the tests.”

“That was playing fair!”

“Anything but.”

Belle threw her hands up in frustration, sending her coffee flying and spilling into Gold’s lap. He grimaced, obviously choking back a yelp of pain, and Belle smiled sweetly after getting over her moment of horror. “Oops,” she said, “let me help you with that, Mr. Gold.”

She snatched a few napkins from her purse and knelt in front of her, wiping at the stain on his thigh, too close to his crotch. Gold gritted his teeth and shifted uncomfortably. “That’s...hardly necessary, dearie.”

“I insist,” said Belle in that sickly sweet tone of hers, now getting nearer and nearer to what would soon be his erection. Gold’s hands became fists as he tried to reign in his control, and the door burst in at the worst possible moment. To whoever had walked in, they would see Gold slouching in her chair, looking painfully turned on, and the back of Belle’s head, kneeling in front of him. They couldn’t see the coffee, the napkins, just what looked like an overtly sexual situation. Belle and Mr. Gold froze.

“Oh,” said Ms. Nolan. “Um, Belle, I was just checking to make sure you came in. Um. I’ll come back later. Um.”

“Please leave Ms. Nolan,” said Gold in a strangled tone. He looked down at Belle to see her eyes as wide as saucers, and her mouth adorably hanging open in shock. Right. Best not to look at her mouth right now.

“Right. Um.”

“Now.”

When he heard the door close behind her, Belle sprang to her feet and pretended to look for something _very_ important in her bag. Mr. Gold pulled himself up, half hard from the encounter.

“Ms. French.”

“Mr. Gold.”

And he left.

* * *

“I heard he taught at Yale for three years before deciding teaching high school was his passion.”

“No! Isn’t he from Scotland or something?”

“Yes!” squealed the second teacher, and Belle rolled her eyes from her hiding spot behind the back of the couch. She had been in deep conversation with August about his character inconsistencies when she overheard the conversation between two of the new teaching assistants, Dana and Diana.

“Hang on just a second,” said Belle to August, walking over to the two girls to take a seat on the couch with them. “Are you guys talking about _Mr. Gooold_?” she said in a purposefully playful tone.

Dana blushed, but Diana nodded furiously. “He’s one of the best teachers here.”

Belle looked over the two, who were admittedly pretty but very plain. Good. But, on second glance, she couldn’t see any of the tell-tale signs of attraction or excitement over him.

“Yeah?” said Belle, unsure of how to bait them.

Dana chimed in, her voice soft and shaky, “I can’t believe he has a degree from Oxford. That’s an incredible accomplishment.”

“He also is very stern with the students, encouraging good behavior and studying,” said Diana, her voice composed and montone.

Belle nodded, realization dawning on her. They weren’t gushing over a crush, but instead they just respected him a great deal. And that just would not do.

“I suppose,” said Belle, playing with the fringe on her skirt.

“What do you mean?”

“Well,” lied Belle, “I heard that he slept with the head of the placement exams in order to get a specialized copy to improve his students’ test scores. It might all be fabricated.”

Dana’s jaw dropped, but Diana looked unsure.

“And he’s an asshole. Just saying,” said Belle, rising from the couch to go join Mary Margaret at the water cooler.

“I heard that,” said Mary Margaret.

“Heard what?” asked Belle nonchalantly, taking a sip from her coffee mug.

“You degrading Gold.”

“He degrades himself.”

“Didn’t look that way earlier in your classroom.”

Belle turned to her, jaw open. “Hey that was not what it looked like--”

“Are you guys a thing?” Mary Margaret cut off Belle.

“No!” said Belle much too quickly.

“Then how come--”

“Okay, listen! Neither of those situations were what they looked like, okay? And as for Dana and Diana, Gold and I are both scheming for the promotion, and I know for a fact that Mills takes into consideration the opinion of the teaching assistants. We’ve been sabotaging each other all week! And, yes, sure there might be some hidden attraction--”

“Hidden?” asked Mary Margaret doubtfully, hiding a smirk behind the rim of her cup.

“Okay, a _definite_ attraction between us, but that doesn’t mean anything is happening. And, well, actually, I don’t even know if Gold’s attracted to me. It’s probably just a one-sided thing. I don’t know.”

Belle ended her speech with a long gulp of fresh air. She glanced around the room before noticing Gold chatting with August across the room. Shit. She hoped he hadn’t heard all of that--or her whole conversation with Dana and Diana.

* * *

 

“So then I was thinking that she should hook up with the pirate instead--”

“Wait, isn’t she mourning the death of the father of her child?”

“Yeah, but--”

“And, why is this pirate hanging off of her like a puppy dog? Doesn’t that go against his whole characterization?”

“Yeah but…” August continued to talk, but Gold zoned out when he heard Belle croon his name across the room. Glancing over, he saw her lying to two of the new teaching assistants this year. Training his ears, he listened to the conversation play out. His lips pressed together tightly. What the fuck did she think she was doing? Manipulating the teaching assistants so that they wouldn’t support him for the promotion? He lost himself in his train of thought before hearing her voice ring out once again.

“Okay, a _definite_ attraction between us--” her voice wafted out, and he had to train his ear especially hard to hear “--And, well, actually, I don’t even know if Gold’s attracted to me...”

What the--? She was attracted to him? Did he hear that wrong? Was he completely and sorely mistaken in her words? _Of course_ he was attracted to her. Who wouldn’t be? She was all brown tresses, short skirts, high heels and blue eyes. Mr. Gold had a type, and she fit the bill perfectly, even if she drove him up a wall most of the time. Why was she trying to fuck with his career then? After being fired from Yale University (unprovoked violence, yadda yadda yadda), he was lucky he knew Regina’s mother (really knew her) so that he could get a job.

He glanced up to meet her eyes and was surprised at what he saw. They were filled with lust, and she was biting down on her lower lip. She probably didn’t even realize she was staring. Well. Two could play at this game.

At the perfect moment, Zelena Greene bound up to him and August to greet them. Poor girl had only gotten the job as head of the science department because she was Regina’s half-sister, not that anyone but him and Regina knew it.

“Hey, Mr. Gold,” she said in her accent, reaching out with her arm to place a hand on his bicep.

“Zelena,” he said, purposefully using her first name. He never used first names. Luckily, Belle was within hearing distance, and her nostrils flared in anger.

“Oh,” said Zelena, blushing.

“You look lovely today,” he said, forcing himself to drag his eyes up and down her figure. She was dressed in a green blouse and black boots.

“Thanks, as do you,” she said, now stroking his arm. Gold had to force himself to stand still. He glanced across the room to see Belle making her way over to them. Oh, boy. Here came trouble.

“Hey Gold, Zelena, August,” she greeted them one at a time, almost breathless.

“Hey, Belle!” said August, “Gold and I were just discussing my book.”

“You’re writing a book?” asked Zelena, now leaning up against Gold. He was about to push her off of him when he saw Belle’s eyes narrow. Instead, he briefly wrapped an arm around her waist and squeezed before dropping it. Belle’s lips straightened into a thin line.

‘That he is,” said Gold. “And, if you’re impressed by that, I’ll have you know that I’ve written several.”

“Really? I didn’t know that,” said Zelena.

“Really,” said Gold. “All New York Times’ Best Sellers.”

Belle jumped in, “But all arguably not very well-written.”

“He’s a great writer!” said Zelena, leaning her head against his shoulder. Gold smirked.

Belle gave her a tight smile, “Hm, funny. Two seconds ago you just said that you didn’t know he had written anything.”

“Well,” clucked Zelena, grasping at straws, “I’ve heard him talk, and he’s very precise and eloquent, so I’m sure he writes good too.”

“Writes well,” corrected Belle, her grip tightening on her mug.

“What?”

“I believe she was correcting your grammar, dearie,” whispered Gold into her ear.

Zelena blinked. “Oh.”

An awkward silence fell over the group, Zelena still hanging off of his arm and Belle looking like she wanted to murder her. August looked knowingly at the trio, finally being able to piece together what was going on. Gold just looked horribly smug and uncomfortable all at the same time.

Zelena checked her watch. “I have to get going, doll. See you later?”

Gold made some kind of noncommittal noise, and she walked off, hips swaying. Gold pretended to stare after her before Belle snapped in front of his gaze.

“I could use this, you know,” said August, looking like he had an epiphany.

“What?” said Gold and Belle simultaneously.

“This whole dynamic,” he had taken off that far-away, very writer look. “Yeah. Yeah, that’s it! The Wicked Witch should kidnap the Dark One because of some weird obsession with older men or something. And the Dark One’s wife should try to rescue him, but the Wicked Witch has him under her spell! Or wait… are they married yet? I can’t remember…”

August wandered off, deep in thought, leaving Belle and Gold to a staring contest.

“That was cruel,” said Belle.

“What?”

“You know what!”

“You’re delusional.”

Belle surged forward until she was inches from his face: “And you’re rude!” She gave him a tiny smirk, as if she had told him something he didn’t already know, strutting from the room. This time, Gold actually did stare after her.

* * *

 

Belle was exhausted. Her feud with Gold was taking a toll on her. Not to mention their insane attraction, that she had decided was most certainly _not_ one sided, if the way he had stared at her ass when she walked out the room was anything to go by. Huffing, she slammed her gradebook shut and tucked it into her tote, bent over it, and pausing when she felt eyes watching her. Looking carefully over her shoulder, she noticed Gold across the hallway. He had his eyes trained on her, eyes that were focused on a very certain part of her anatomy that made a callback to earlier when she left the teacher’s lounge. Yep, the guy was totally staring at her ass again. Belle internally patted herself on the back.

She stood up straight and shot daggers at him, pretending to be annoyed. When he only tilted his head in response, she actually did become annoyed. Giving another huff, she marched across the hall to his room, slamming his door closed when she entered.

Not expecting this, Gold rose to his feet immediately, placing his cane directly in front of him, hands folded over the top. Belle rolled her eyes at his obvious scheme for the upper hand in the situation. That _would not_ do.

“The promotion is announced tomorrow after school.”

“I’m aware,” he said. “And you’re informing me about this, why?”

Belle tilted her chin upward. “Just wanted to let you know that I’m gonna win.”

Gold scoffed and rolled his eyes.

“I’m more timely--except for recently, and I have you to thank for that--kids like me better because I’m nice to them, I’m an Ivy-league grad, I now hopefully have the support of the TAs, and probably higher test scores than you do. And--” she paused for dramatic effect “--I dress cute.”

When he didn’t say anything, Belle opened her mouth to continue.

“Shut up,” said Gold, his voice now a low growl. His eyes were trained on her, his jaw was clenched, and he looked like he was restraining himself for whatever reason. Belle couldn’t have made him _that_ mad.

“Oh, come on--”

“Shut. Up,” he said through clenched teeth.

“Gold--”

He took two step closer to her and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her flush against him so that she could feel how she was affecting him. Belle felt her eyes roll backward in her head when he said, “What part of shut up don’t you understand?” before he lowered his mouth to her neck, biting and licking a path down to her shoulder where he sucked in her creamy skin, more than likely leaving a mark.

He spun her around and walked her backwards, pushing her up against the desk. He licked his way up to her ear before nibbling on her lobe. Belle felt her knees give out, but had the support of the desk beneath her when he hoisted her up to sit on it. He moved so that he stood between her legs.

“Tell me to stop, Belle,” he said, grinding his hard length into her core, breath hot in her ear. “Tell me to stop, goddamnit.” His hand made their way up to the first button on her shirt, which promptly he tore away.

“No,” breathed Belle, wrapping a leg around him and pulling him closer. She gave an embarrassing groan when his mouth trailed down to kiss at the newly exposed skin before he tore away the rest of the buttons, scattering them across the room. “Fuck,” she whimpered.

Gold pulled away to drink in her lacy black bra and tone stomach, his pupils pulsing. He pushed up her bra, impatient to expose her breasts to the cool classroom air. He descended upon her right breast, and she gave an undignified sigh when he bit it before laving his tongue around it.

“Don’t stop,” said Belle. Not one to sit dormant, she hopped off the desk and pulled at Gold’s tie, loosening it and throwing it across the room. She undid his top button and bit at his collarbone, causing Gold to groan. Her hands trailed down from his shoulders down to his belt buckle, trying to undo it as hastily as she could. Once it was undone, she pulled the belt from its loops and tossed it onto the ground. She unbuttoned and unzipped his pants, reaching in to pull out his hard length to stroke it a few times, spreading out his precum across the tip.

“Fuck, you’re hot,” said Gold. He pulled her hands away and grasped her waist. Giving a quick and sloppy kiss to her lips, he turned her around and brought his hand up to her hair, weaving his fingers through her locks before bending her over the table. He pushed up her tiny skirt to reveal her pussy, already glistening and wet with her juices. Gold licked his lips at the sight, but decided to focus on the task at hand. Grasping his length, he gave himself a few strokes before lining them up. He spread around her juices with his tip, leaving her squirming against the desk, begging.

“Shit, uh, hang on a second,” he said, fumbling in his pocket for his wallet.

“Ohmygod, hurry up!”

Gold managed to pull a condom out of his wallet and slip it on in record time before returning to his previous ministrations of teasing her. He put his hand back on her hair, basking in the feel of her curls between his fingers.

“Please, just--”

“Please, what Belle?

“Please...I wanna…”

“You want me to what?” he said, taking a risk and slapping her ass lightly with his free hand.

Belle whimpered and rolled her hips to try and find some sort of release.

“Please fuck me!”

Gold thrust into her, soaking in her heat for a few moments before she began wiggling again to create friction. He began thrusting in and out. He set a punishing pace, hard and fast. It soon became too much, and he had to abandon his hands position in Belle’s hair to grab reach in front of her waist to pinch her clit. “You like that?” he said.

Belle could do nothing but moan in ecstasy. Without warning, her arms began to spasm as she tried to reach behind her, before her body stiffened completely. She heard herself screaming, and vaguely Gold groaning in time to his thrusts in the background.

Gold immediately let go, spilling himself into the condom and collapsing half on top of her and half off.

“Gold,” she said, turning her head to face his.

He grunted in response.

“You’re crushing me.”

He jumped to his feet, slipping out of her and looking at her apologetically when she turned around to adjust her skirt. “Sorry, I lost control of myself, I don’t know what I was thinking--”

“Hey,” said Belle softly. She stepped forward and gently placed her hands on her shoulder. “It’s okay. I wanted it. Badly. You couldn’t tell?”

“Well--”

“Plus, that was the best orgasm I’ve ever had in my entire life.”

“Really?” Gold’s open expression turned self-congratulatory

“Yes.”

Gold breathed out what sounded like a sigh of relief. “Thank God,” he said.

Belle yawned, “And now I’m absolutely exhausted.”

Gold gave her a crooked smile, “Well, you know there’s this thing called a bed, and I wouldn’t mind sharing one with you…” his teasing turned serious, “but only if you want to. I don’t want to force you into anything.”

Belle only smiled, and leaned forward to give him a soft kiss. She dropped her head to her shoulder and nuzzled his neck. “I would love that.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed it! I used to be amazing at writing smut, but now I'm just meh...
> 
> If you want to find out who gets the promotion, leave me a comment or kudos and I'll write an epilogue. Please :).
> 
> sorry bout zelena btw...


End file.
